Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards clash over Chelsea after £2bn claim

Former Premier League defenders turned pundits Jamie Carragher and Micah Richards have been involved in a heated debate over Chelsea’s progress since the arrival of owner Todd Boehly.

The Blues are back in the Champions League this season after two seasons away from the competition. That’s despite the club being active in the transfer window in terms of bringing in players.

Enzo Maresca’s side face Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena. Ahead of that game, the two pundits clashed over the job that Boehly has done at Stamford Bridge since taking over three-and-a-half years ago.

“There’s no right or wrong way going about running a football club and trying to be successful; it doesn’t matter about the system,” Carragher told CBS Sport. “The point I’m trying to make is we can’t pretend that this has been a success so far after three-and-a-half years.

“They came into a club and the manager was Thomas Tuchel, he’d won the Champions League at that club, at that stage under Thomas Tuchel, Manchester City and Liverpool were possibly the best two teams in world football, alongside Real Madrid, so it was very difficult for anybody to win the Premier League, but Chelsea were the third best team. It wasn’t Manchester United, it wasn’t Arsenal, it was Chelsea.

“They then change that manager, they then take a team who were very close to competing and winning trophies like they did the Champions League, and they go and spend £2 billion. “They are no closer, they are further away than what that manager was doing three-and-a-half years ago in terms of competing with the top teams in the Premier League, they are further away having spent two billion pounds.”

Richards then gave his own thoughts, saying: “But there’s been progress, hasn’t there? If you finish in the league in his first season, 12th, and then you finish sixth, and then you finish fourth, and then you win the Club World Cup.

“We’re talking about where they are now, yes, he has spent a lot of money, but there has been progress. They beat the best team in Europe in PSG. They did ever so well, I’m not saying Chelsea are going to win the Premier League, but you can see progress.”

Carragher responded with: “Let’s not forget where Chelsea have come from, Chelsea are a winning machine.”

Richards replied with: “Man United have been a winning machine, Man United in this period of the last six or seven years have spent an awful lot of money. Man United have finished 15th, 16th, 17th last year, no where near the Champions League, so if you go back and say 12th, progress…

..”You mention a way of doing it, at this moment in time Man City and Arsenal and Liverpool have got a better squad than Chelsea. You talk about doing something, you’re insinuating that they’re doing something wrong.

“I think it’s very clever the way that Chelsea have done their business.”

“I don’t think there squad is as good I’m talking about in the Premier League, I think they could buy more quality rather than quantity. But Joao Pedro has been a good signing, Gittens did well at Dortmund.

“And if you’re looking at what they’re trying to do, they’re trying to buy young players. Man City have waited too long before they can sell anyone, Chelsea are very good at selling on an asset, because they buy them young, they’ve still got value and look at the fees, Madueke, $66.6 million (£48.8m).

“I just think Chelsea are going about it in a different way, whether we agree with it or not.”

A back-and-forth then ensued between the two pundits:

Carragher : “Are Chelsea here to transfer players or to win trophies?

Richards : “But they won two trophies last year.”

Carragher : “A Micky Mouse trophy.”

Richards: “The Club World Cup? They’ve just beaten PSG, European Champions.”

Carragher : “You’ve just said they haven’t got a squad better than the other teams in the Premier League. How is that possible when you’ve spent £2 billion on a squad?”